Water Impact Costs May Be Altered

The Payson Town Council will consider a proposal to replace a flat water-impact fee with a system that assigns varying charges for different kinds of new development.

Town Manager Rich Underkofler will request that the town attorney be authorized at Thursday's council meeting to draft amendments to the Town Code to establish a different method for estimating Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs) for calculating water development fees.

On Nov. 12, when the council raised the water impact fees for new developers with fewer than 20 ERUs, the motion included directing staff to research whether there was a more equitable method for assessing fees. The council raised the water impact fee to $3,785 for each ERU, from its previous $1,503.

Public Works Director Buzz Walker has proposed the following definitions for one ERU as:

The definitions are subject to change relative to swimming pool installation and to actual proposed use and landscaping.

In his recommendation to the council, Underkofler said he would like to provide for a higher development fee if the actual water use in peak demand months exceeds the amount estimated by staff.

In other business Thursday:• The council will consider awarding the bid for a runway water storage tank site, roadway and waterline improvements at the Payson Municipal Airport to Intermountain West Civil Constructors for $146,778.

Public Works Engineer LaRon Garrett said the new water tank will allow the town to make full use of the new water wells dedicated to the town by the developers of Payson Pines and Stone Creek subdivisions.

Parks and Recreation Director Bill Schwind will ask the council to authorize the expenditure of $9,110 from the Capital Improvement Budget for a gazebo for Green Valley Park.

Schwind will seek to award the service contract to BRW Inc. for the engineering project, which was originally budgeted at $30,000.

The money to BRW will include a site plan, an electrical plan, structural details, specifications, an opinion on probable costs and a color rendering.

Schwind said the summer concert program, which will utilize the gazebo, has been expensive in terms of labor. The present stage must be stored, hauled, constructed and maintained and uses three paid staff and six volunteers for each performance.

Schwind said the town has also been responsible for the rental of a portable lighting system.

The council will also have a second reading and public hearing concerning amending sections of the Unified Development Code.

The council will have a discussion and possibly take action on granting an electrical franchise to APS and a gas franchise to Energy West Inc. and will submit their findings to the public at a special election to determine if such franchises will be awarded.

Also on the agenda Thursday for a public hearing and second reading is an ordinance to rezone 5.9 acres south of Manzanita Manor and west of the 300 block of McLane Road for a proposed adult and medical care facility.

The Town Council meets at 6 p.m. in the Town Hall Chambers at 303 N. Beeline Highway.